Book Review: Gene Luen Yang’s “Dragon Hoops”
By Tyler Foley
By Tyler Foley
A real-life high school basketball team’s excellent adventure in graphic novel form.
If you love sports and comics you’ll love Gene Luen Yang's new book “Dragon Hoops.”
“Dragon Hoops” is a true story that journeys into the competitive world of high school basketball. It takes place at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California, where Yang is a teacher. The team is doing great this year and hopes to win the state championship - but the past seven times they have gone to the championship, they have lost.
The story revolves around the varsity team, which is very diverse and has students of many races and ethnic backgrounds. They all have the same goal - to win.
Ivan and Paris, best friends, are the superstars of the team, and grew up together. When asked about their past, they said they had seen some “things” and wouldn’t go into it much.
Another featured player is Alex, who is from China and came to play basketball because he needed a challenge. When he came to America he discovered there are lots of other basketball players who are really good. At first he thought he was bad and considered going back to China, but became motivated to do better.
The coach is a kind coach that wants his players to be disciplined, respectful and the best in the country. He even takes a call from a player at 5 a.m. in the morning when the kid wants to practice.
Gene, the author, is himself a character in the book. Gene is a talented author that hates sports, but he learns to love basketball.
“Dragon Hoops” is a hugely entertaining story with likeable characters you will be cheering for the whole time. There are a lot of laughs and a good ride through the adventures of Gene and the basketball team - but the book also touches on more serious notes of race and bias in sports which will keep you thinking long after you’ve finished the 436 pages.
Five out of five stars.
If you love sports and comics you’ll love Gene Luen Yang's new book “Dragon Hoops.”
“Dragon Hoops” is a true story that journeys into the competitive world of high school basketball. It takes place at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California, where Yang is a teacher. The team is doing great this year and hopes to win the state championship - but the past seven times they have gone to the championship, they have lost.
The story revolves around the varsity team, which is very diverse and has students of many races and ethnic backgrounds. They all have the same goal - to win.
Ivan and Paris, best friends, are the superstars of the team, and grew up together. When asked about their past, they said they had seen some “things” and wouldn’t go into it much.
Another featured player is Alex, who is from China and came to play basketball because he needed a challenge. When he came to America he discovered there are lots of other basketball players who are really good. At first he thought he was bad and considered going back to China, but became motivated to do better.
The coach is a kind coach that wants his players to be disciplined, respectful and the best in the country. He even takes a call from a player at 5 a.m. in the morning when the kid wants to practice.
Gene, the author, is himself a character in the book. Gene is a talented author that hates sports, but he learns to love basketball.
“Dragon Hoops” is a hugely entertaining story with likeable characters you will be cheering for the whole time. There are a lot of laughs and a good ride through the adventures of Gene and the basketball team - but the book also touches on more serious notes of race and bias in sports which will keep you thinking long after you’ve finished the 436 pages.
Five out of five stars.